The subject matter of the present invention relates generally to board separator apparatus for separating individual boards from groups of boards. In addition, the board separator of the invention is useful in orienting the boards with a predetermined side of the boards facing upward for further processsing of the boards. The boards may be cants, which are sawed from a round log so that they have rounded edge portions or wanes on one side of the board. The boards can be oriented with the wane side facing up to enable detection of the wanes with a light scanning means, and removal of the wanes in a resaw section of the sawmill.
Previously, board separator apparatus have been employed for feeding boards individually from a stack to a saw or other woodworking means, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,798,834 of E. D. Campen and U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,565 of R. H. Eckart. However, these separators do not employ an elevator means for lowering the boards from an input conveyor and separator arms for selectively moving the boards one at a time off of the elevator means onto an output conveyor to separate the boards from the group of boards placed on such elevator means in the manner of the present invention. In addition, none of these references discloses the use of a transfer box for transferring a group of boards from the input conveyor to the elevator means in the manner of the present invention. Also, in both of these patents the separated board is transported in a vertical position, not a horizontal position, by the output conveyor and the boards are not oriented with a predetermined side of the board facing up in the manner of the present invention.
Of course it is old to provide a transfer means for transferring articles positioned vertically on an input conveyor into a horizontal position on an output conveyor, as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 1,826,379 of P. J. Birkmeyer et al which employs such a transfer means for telegrams, letters and the like. In addition, it is old to separate boards and transmit them horizontally over a conveyor means, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,675,929 of T. T. Youngfelt and U.S. Pat. No. 2,987,088 of L. B. Dennison. However, none of these patents shows a board separator apparatus like that of the present invention employing elevator means, separator arms and a transfer box.
The board separator apparatus of the present invention has several advantages. It is relatively simple in construction. It operates quickly and accurately to separate the boards, to transfer the boards from one conveyor to another, and to orient the separated boards on the output conveyor with a predetermined side of such boards facing up. In addition, the board separator apparatus of the present invention operates in a trouble-free manner and is not subject to jamming.